Pokemon Ivory
by LA Knight
Summary: Everyone always said that setting out on the journey would be the greatest experience of any Pokémon Trainer's life. But no ever talked about the pain, or the struggle. A real-life look at the storyline of Pokemon White.
1. Death Match

_**At the Bottom of This Chapter:**_

_Explanation of the Purpose of This Fic_

_Preemptive Notation on Artistic License_

_Mary-Sue Litmus Test Score_

.

.

**Pokemon Ivory**

**Prologue**

**Death-Match**

.

.

Everyone always said that setting out on the journey would be the greatest experience of any Pokémon Trainer's life. From that first instant of looking into the starter Pokémon's eyes, until the moment when the Pokémon League Champion was forced to conceded defeat and they interred your name forever in their records as a fellow Champion – it would all be worth the trip. It would be the dearest and most treasured part of life. The bonds forged, friendships and rivalries begun, experiences gained: _that_ was the point of setting out at the tender age of sixteen to become a Pokémon Master. At least, that's what people always said.

But no one ever talked about the pain. Blistered feet from hours upon hours, days upon days of walking. Shoulders that ached from the weight of the pack ladened with potions and elixirs. Eyes burning with the sand and grit from Route Four. Sunburn so hot it sizzled from the Skyarrow Bridge, where there had never been any place to seek shade. The ravenous hunger, like the razor fangs of an angry Gyrados, raking at the belly when camped out in the icy winter grasslands of Route Six, without enough money to feed either Trainer or Pokémon. Thorns and poison barbs were always a danger in Pinwheel Forest, painful shocks and even electrocution in Chargestone Cave.

After suffering near-frostbite in Driftveil City, the red-hot-needles feeling of life returning to frozen limbs could never be forgotten. Nearly drowning in the crystal-clear waters of Undella Bay, trapped in the sucking tentacles of an Octillery intent on murder-by-bludgeoning wasn't a memory likely to be forgotten, either. No one talked about the tears, the biting cold of winter in the wilds, the searing heat of high summer, the pangs of homesickness that were nearly as strong as the hunger pains. There was never a mention of the heartache as a Pokémon died in its Trainer's arms.

In point of fact, all anyone ever _did _talk about was the bright side of the journey to Victory Road: fame and glory, friends made, whimsical romances enjoyed, tourist attractions photographed, battles fought and won. But the path to the Pokémon Championship was impassible, unless a Trainer was willing to wade through blood for the chance to fight the brutal League. There was a reason – a very good one – why Pokémon were often called "pocket monsters." And mastering the monsters demanded something that many were never willing to give. Those that were, were rarely willing to speak of it.

No, those who had gone before never spoke of the pain. There was no hint that loneliness and starvation, fear and bloodshed stood between home and Victory Road. They never warned young Trainers that the road to the Pokémon League was full of danger, pain, and loss. That every turn in the path could mean death for a Trainer... or for a beloved Pokémon.

But Ivory knew of pain, and danger. She knew of death. And at this moment, she and death were locked together in fierce battle. Even if death did not yet know that it was coming for her, it didn't matter. _She _knew. After two years on the road, battling trainers and gym leaders and wild monsters, coming through scarred and battered, but triumphant and unbowed, Ivory Nox knew what death looked like, smelled like, felt like.

Blood soaked one leg of her cutoff jeans, darkened part of her once-white shirt. There was an acid burn on her left cheek from a Joltik attack. Harsh ventilation from the air conditioning abraded the raw flesh across her cheekbone. She'd lost her vest in one of the brutal battles on the way to the throne room, and her bag with its potions, berries, and healing elixirs. Without her first aid supplies, everyone had been taken down – Draculina, Elvis, Rebakah, even Lilo. She only had two Pokémon left. Just her, the indomitable Shaggy, and the elegantly lethal Galen; three against a madman. A madman who still held a piece of her heart hostage.

"You're out of your mind," Ivory whispered. Every second of looking into his eyes was like a gush of blood from a heart wound. Every moment ticking by left fear oozing icily through her veins. "You're completely crazy."

She clutched the last of her Poké Balls in one hand. Blood and fluid trickled from the blistered burn on her right arm and leg. Only Shaggy's quick shove had saved her from a painful death at the fiery claws of N's vicious Reshiram. The Scrafty had scored his own bad burn as payment for his efforts, though only a first-degree affair. Even now though, pain throbbed from the human girl's seared flesh, and the Pokémon's. The Scrafty shuddered with the searing agony of it that he could feel emanating from his Trainer. Ivory wondered if her wounds actually pulsed in time with those of her injured partner, or if it was only her imagination.

"You still willfully persist in seeing me as the villain, Ivory," the boy she squared off against said with a slow shake of his head. "Why?"

"You want to take Pokémon away from humans."

"That's always been the goal, Ivory." The boy grinned disarmingly. Phantom pain lanced her chest. Another intangible gush of heart's blood. This couldn't be the same boy who'd taken her on the ferris wheel... could it? "We're trying to free Pokémon from bondage, don't you get that?"

Shaggy growled at N, lifting his massive, scaly fists in obvious challenge when the boy took a step toward Ivory. The noxious stench of a sludge bomb waiting to form filled the throne room. N only smiled.

"I must commend you, Scrafty, for wanting to defend your Trainer. But you don't need to stay with her. Join Team Plasma. Be free of her. Be free of all humans."

Her Scrafty, nicknamed Shaggy all those months ago when he'd been a shedding little Scraggy Pokémon intent on kicking butt and being the best Fighting Pokémon in Unova - back when he couldn't even keep his pebble-like skin covering his little tummy - glanced her way with reptilian eyes that only practice had given her the ability to read. He didn't _want _be free of her. He didn't want to give in. Fire burned in his gaze, urging her to keep fighting.

_I know you're hurting,_ Shaggy's eyes seemed to say. _I_ know _it hurts. I_ know _you're tired. But we're strong. We_ must _keep going. We_ must _keep fighting. You_ know _we must._

Pain and hunger made Ivory dizzy. Maybe she ought to give in. N wouldn't abuse her Pokémon, that was certain. Though perhaps his goons would. She'd seen the way they'd beaten the little Munna in the salvage yard nearly to death. But everything hurt... and she still had to fight Ghetsis. She only had two partners left. If she gave into N, they wouldn't have to be hurt. He'd probably even heal her other Pokémon. That possibility pulled at her heart the strongest – if she held out, and the fight took too long, the others would die.

Eyes like the blood of ancient redwood trees suddenly filled her vision. Galen – her very first Pokémon, her elegant and deadly, jewel-like Serperior with his razor-edged vines and loving eyes – trilled inquiringly in her mind. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking. Yet Ivory imagined she could feel one of his vines lightly caress her cheek. Ivory stared into phantom pools of liquid sunset before closing her own eyes, drawing a deep breath to steady her resolve. Galen knew every Pokémon she'd ever captured. He knew them even better than she did. He would know what they wanted her to do.

"Shaggy and Galen don't want to be free of me. We're partners." A bit softer, she added, "We're family. We love each other." Gray eyes snapped open, sparking with fury and determination. She clenched her fists – both to steady her resolve, and to keep from fainting from the pain. There would be no backing down. "We won't give in. We won't give up."

N frowned. Was that sadness in his eyes? For a moment, Ivory thought she saw the glimmer of memory: a Ferris wheel at night, the lights of Nimbasa city lighting up the dark like a thousand stars, and the golden glow caressing their faces as they talked. Then N blinked and the image was gone. Without a word, he summoned Vanilluxe and Carracosta. When he looked at her, it was like looking at a stranger. "Very well, then. The battle continues."

The battle continued? This battle with death. Were the others alright? Were they still holding on? Draculina, her precious Swoobat; Elvis, her gentle but determined Gigalith; Rebakah, her swift and reliable Unfeazant; and Lilo, her hydro-pumped Simipour. They'd fainted. She had to get them to the Pokémon Center before they succumbed to their wounds and... and...

_That means, _she told herself, clenching her fists tighter,_ I've got to beat this guy and Ghetsis quick, so we can get to a Center. So we can get help. So suck it up and fight!_

"Yeah," she said aloud. There was no hesitation in her voice. No fear. Only the barest quiver in acknowledgment of her wounds. She was pretty sure Shaggy would have smiled at her if he could have, so she smiled at him. "The battle continues. Galen! Come on out! Shaggy! Galen! _Attack!"_

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_**Explanation of the Purpose of This Fic:**__ My husband told me about a (funny?) fanfic he read once called "Emphasis on Monster." The concept of it really struck me – Pokémon are _monsters_. They probably eat each other. When wild Pokémon fight, or when evil trainers attack people or wild Pokémon, they probably kill or seriously injure their opponents/victims instead of just making them faint. Traveling around what is basically Japan before urban expansion is difficult, especially when you're, what? Fifteen? At the most. Ash is voiced by a woman, so I don't think he's hit puberty yet. My friend who likes Pokemon says he's like, 10 when he starts in season one. _

_Pokémon and humans get sick, hungry, cold, tired, injured. Yeah, there are Pokémon Centers, but what if you're not close enough to one? What if, when Squirtle and Onix are fighting, Onix breaks Squirtle's shell (a big deal for a real-world turtle)? What if Pikachu eats a poisonous berry? Or Blue Trainer slips on the mountain path and breaks a leg? Or gets seriously burned by an angry Ponyta? Falls in a hole? Trapped in a blizzard? _

_So this fic is based off of Pokémon White's game play (minus the random level-up battles and other such boring tedium) as played by a girl, with all those things in mind, as well as the emotional development of a kid on the road, alone, taking care of themselves and their Pokémon for an entire year or more._

_**Preemptive Notation on Artistic License:**__ Because the world of Pokemon is, by necessity, 2-dimension, we lose out on a lot of sensory information about that world. We lose out on more information due to the fact that the show if for children. For example, what does a Lilligant smell like? Do Servines have eyelashes? If an Onix broke a Squirtle's shell and you can't get the Squirtle to a Pokémon Center, will the Squirtle die? If Arbok bites a human being, will the human die? Can Sawk take off its gi? What does roast Unfeazant taste like? Does Whimsicott make a good pillow? Do Snubble have dog breath? _

_We don't know the answers to any of these things (well, we might have the answers to a couple, but not all of them). Hence, I am warning you now, there will be some details in this fic that are purely from the author's imagination because I can't find information on these things (like whether Snubble have dog breath). I just want everyone to know. In the Author's Notes at the end of each chapter, I'll tell you what things I made up._

_Have a nice day!_

_**Mary-Sue Litmus Test Score:**__ 4. I think I'm safe. _=)_ helps when you're only fleshing out a story written by someone else (in this case, Game Freak). Kind of like my best friend and beta, she's got this great fanfic for W.I.T.C.H. (not on this site, unfortunately), which simply takes the storyline of the show and makes it more grownup. The plot is still mostly the same, but the danger and emotional duress is greater. Kind of like in here._


	2. The First Proving Ground

**Chapter One**

**The First Proving Ground**

.

_Two years and four months earlier..._

.

.

_Crap, crap, crap!_

Ivory bolted between two thick hawthorn trees, but the furious shrilling from behind her didn't stop. Something large and angry hurtled through the tall grass, intent on its prey. She already knew how intent from the deep scratches bleeding into the back of her torn t-shirt. At least it hadn't bitten her. But that hadn't been for lack of trying. Only a quick swipe with the club she usually carried to and from school had saved her from the rabid Liepard's poisonous bite.

_Not that I'll be safe for long, _she thought as a stitch knifed her side. _Especially since I dropped the thing like an idiot._ _Ow! Crap!_ Home, she had to get home! People in town had rifles. They could shoot the stupid thing! _Before it bites me!_

Perspiration streamed down her forehead, plastering her hair to her face. More sweat dripped from the ends of her bangs into her eyes, blinding her. Heart screaming in her chest, adrenaline pumping, Ivory fought the burning pain in her side and tried to keep running. A thorny ebony branch sliced across her face. Narrowly missed her eyes. And behind her, the maddened Liepard raced after her, intent on ripping her to pieces.

_They're not supposed to get this big, _she thought desperately, leaping over a fallen log. _That thing's the size of a freaking Rhyhorn almost!_ Ivory glanced behind her, trying to spot the Pokémon that had been slavering after her. She could still hear it crushing foliage as it chased after her.

Not looking was a bad idea. Right as she was turning back around, a tree banch caught her in the face and slammed her to the forest floor. The air exploded from her lungs. She nearly forgot how to draw breath. Her head thumped against the mossy ground and she saw blinding stars. _Ow. What?_ For a minute she could only stare up at the forest canopy, blinking stupidly. Then she heard the furious growling and snarling.

_The Liepard!_ Ivory tried to roll over and pain exploded in her head. She tasted copper and spit blood onto the loam. When she touched her fingers to her nose, they came away coated in red.

The Liepard growled again, and she rolled onto her hands and knees. Pushing to her feet, she stumbled dizzily and smacked against a tree, unable to stand. Gray eyes locked with the glassy emerald gaze of the Liepard. There was nothing but insane hatred in those glass green eyes. The leopard Pokémon stalked toward her, its hungry gaze never leaving her face. It's long, pink tongue licked at its froth-speckled lips.

_If it bites me, _she thought, _if it so much as nips me, I'm going to die._ There was no hospital or Pokémon Center near enough for her to get the rabies booster. Unlike with Pokémon, humans could only get the shot after they'd been bitten, but it had to be within twenty-four hours. Otherwise... _Otherwise I die. And no one in town has a car. I can't let it bite me. I can't let it touch me at all._

Ivory watched the rabid Pokémon's hindquarters coil and bunch. Watched it ready itself to spring at her. Her fingers bit into the rough bark of the tree trunk as she eyed the Liepard with a racing heart. Fear was an icy poison sliding coldly through her veins, freezing her in place. She could smell the thick musk of the angry cat monster. It would spring any minute. In just a second, it would be on her, ripping at her face and throat with razor sharp claws the size of kitchen knives. Struggling to gnaw at her throat with its needle-sharp, vicious teeth. Hungry for the hot blood of a fresh kill. And the only thing that stood even somewhat between it and its all-too-vulnerable prey was an oak tree.

_Tomorrow is my birthday, _Ivory thought, nearly choking on her pulse. _I'll be old enough to be a Pokémon Trainer. I'll finally be old enough to leave home. This isn't how it's supposed to happen._ And on the tail end of that thought came a sudden surge of fury. _No. No, that's __**not **__how it's supposed to happen. That stupid Liepard isn't going to do spit to me. I won't let it!_

Ignoring the throbbing in her skull and the sweat and blood trickling into her eye and mouth, she reached up and grabbed one of the oak branches. The wood was somewhat rotted. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Ivory wrapped both hands around the branch and yanked as hard as she could. It ripped away from the tree with the wet cracking of wet-rotted wood.

The Liepard stared at her, obviously puzzled. This little hairless thing was prey. It wasn't supposed to be doing... whatever it was doing. It should be trying to hide, quivering in terror as the huge cat stalked toward it, intent on the kill. Adrenaline lacing its hot blood, adding flavor. Fear in every beat of its terrified heart. And when the Liepard sank its teeth into the back of the creature's neck and snapped the spine, it would scream once and die. Instead there was anger in the thing's eyes. Anger, and determination.

The Liepard spread its paws and screamed, the shrill and furious screech of a hunting cat.

"Shut up," Ivory snapped, clutching her branch tighter. Part of her was clamoring that she turn and run. But if she turned her back on the Liepard, it would pounce, and she would die. Terrifying. Unacceptable. So instead, she tightened her grip on the oak branch until splinters bit into her fingers and her knuckles bleached white. And she waited for the thing to leap at her.

When it only stared at her, snarling its hunting cry with fury in its eyes, she yelled, "Come on! Stupid thing! Just do it already! I'm not scared of you!"

_Big lie, _the girl thought with a faint kiss of hysteria. _Big, big lie._

With a sudden scream of fury, the Liepard launched itself in the air. Before Ivory could even swing her club, a huge, dark shape leapt between her and the rabid creature. The big cat's hunting shriek cut off abruptly. Ivory stared up at the looming, sinuous thing in front of her with wide eyes. Dark jade scales glittered in the weak autumn sunlight filtering through the canopy. Golden banding accentuated the slender shape of the thick, scaly body. And when the thing's gold-crested head turned to look down on her, she found herself trapped in the oldest, wisest crimson eyes she had ever seen. Gossamer-thin viridian lashes blinked once, but those eyes never looked away.

_Serperior,_ Ivory realized. _Final evolution of Snivy._

"Excellent work, Serperior," a cool, brisk voice said, and those blood-red eyes finally broke eye contact. Ivory shook herself and realized she still held the branch, now stained by tiny streams of red from her bleeding hands. She dropped the club and fell back against the tree trunk. "Very effective. If you're going to eat it, though, you should probably take it somewhere our young friend won't see you. She's had enough of a fright for one day, I think."

The Serperior shifted its slender, pale jade head to look once more at Ivory. Then it turned and leaned down to lift up the dead Liepard carcass.

"Oh, it's rabid!"

"Stop, Serperior!" Now the woman came into view. Tall, with light brown hair in a tight braid down her back, a thick scar slashing across one sightless, milky blue eye, Professor Sakura Juniper stepped forward and looked down at the carcass. Ivory noted with almost clinical detachment that the cat's head had been rotated almost a full one-hundred-eighty degrees; probably thanks to the Serperior's vine whip attack. The jewel-like serpent Pokémon peered down at the Liepard as well.

"Rabid, eh?" Professor Juniper added. She didn't seem to notice the blood splashed across her blue jeans, or the ragged tears in her tank top and field lab coat. "Well, that makes you twice as stupid. And twice as brave. You're lucky my Serperior and I were doing some field research, or you'd have been cat's meat."

At the words "cat's meat," Ivory fell flat on her butt on the ground and closed her eyes. The sudden absence of adrenaline made her eyes sting, but she refused, at a day short of sixteen years old, to cry like a baby in front of the legendary Professor Juniper, one of the only female Pokémon Professors in the world. She would _not_ cry in front of a woman who, at eighteen, had killed a man-eating, child-searing Charizard with just a pistol, a severely burned Oddish and a level-five baby Squirtle. But Ivory's trapped sobs made her shoulders heave.

Professor Juniper asked, "Hiccups?" The sarcasm was a gentle nudge.

"N-no, ma'am." Then Ivory clamped her teeth together so that their chattering wouldn't make her bite her tongue. The scarred Professor glanced at the girl before plopping down next to her and slinging a muscular arm over her shoulder. Ivory noticed a shiny patch of skin on the inside of the older woman's arm that looked a bit like melted wax - an acid-burn scar.

"Well, welcome to the wonderful world of Pokémon, my dear! I'm Professor Juniper, though you probably knew that already." The Pokémon Professor's carefree tone of voice helped push back some of the fear still clawing at Ivory, and she nodded. "I'm the Pokémon Professor, obviously. Pokémon have mysterious powers. They come in many shapes and live in many different places. We humans live happily with many Pokémon! Living and working together, we complement each other, blah-blah-blah and all that bullcrap they feed you in school. Also, Pokémon are dangerous, most of them are highly toxic, they eat each other and screw to make babies just like people, they will kill you if you're not careful, and some of them will not only kill you, they will crack open your bones to suck the marrow." For some reason, the totally off-hand way Juniper said all this not only dispersed the rest of the post-trauma panic, it actually made Ivory laugh. "Anyway, that's enough from me... what's your story, kid?"

"Um... I was walking home from school and that Liepard attacked me." She pressed a hand to her forehead. The cut from where she'd run into the tree branch had clotted with congealed blood, and the pain in her head was swiftly fading. Now she just wanted to go home. But she didn't think she could manage walking just yet.

Juniper arched the eyebrow over her blind eye. The thick, purple scar bisected the slender brow and carved deep into what would have been a supermodel-exquisite cheekbone. The regard of that strange, sightless eyeball gave Ivory the distinctly uncomfortable impression that the milky eye could see right through her skull. Could see how terrified she'd been that the Liepard would rip her to pieces. See how desperate she was for a chance to become a Pokémon Trainer - and better, to be a Pokémon _Master_. But all the Professor said was, "That's it?"

"Well, yeah." Ivory picked up a fallen acorn and popped the cap and stem off to fiddle with. "I mean," she added, staring intently at the acorn, unable to meet either the blind eye or the opposite, sparkling green one. "What else do you wanna know?"

"I'll take your name."

"Oh." Duh. Feeling like an idiot, the sixteen-year-old extended her free hand to shake. The Professor pumped it once before letting it go. "I'm Ivory. Ivory Nox. I live in Nuvema Town." Professor Juniper lived in Nuvema, didn't she? Ivory couldn't remember ever seeing this battle-scarred woman in person before - although Ivory's mother had all of the Pokémon Professor's interviews and documentaries on DVD - but somehow she was sure there was a Professor (or maybe it was Doctor) Juniper in her little town.

"Ivory Nox of Nuvema Town. Lemme guess: you're friends with the somewhat difficult but always honest Cheren Gozen, he of the coke-bottle four eyes and the massive brain, as well as the flighty but dedicated, not to mention sweet-tempered Bianca Noire, right?"

At the thought of Cheren and Bianca, Ivory grinned and nodded. Wait till they heard about _this_: being chased by a rabid Liepard intent on disemboweling her, being rescued by one of the most beautiful Pokémon she'd ever seen in her life, and then sitting down to talk to Professor Sakura Juniper _herself_. It had been scary as the Devil's own personal nightmare, but with the famous - and reportedly lethal - Professor Juniper seated beside her, the fear and panic were (almost) a distant memory. But Ivory said only, "Yes, ma'am."

"Don't call me 'ma'am.'" But the Professor was smiling warmly now. "Anyway, I think you three have potential, so I'm going to give you a very, very unique opportunity, Pop-Tart. You're sixteen tomorrow - I keep track of the kids coming of age in the nearby towns - so you're old enough to have your own Pokémon starting tomorrow. You're going to fight your way to Victory Road, aren't you? And you plan on being League Champion, don't you?"

Ivory nodded, hands clenched into fists. Yes. Yes, that was _exactly_ the plan. She would fight her way through the Gyms to Victory Road, and she would kick butt, and then she and her Pokémon would be Champions. She would be a Pokémon Master.

"Excellent." The approval in Professor Juniper's voice was warm as spring sunshine. Her unscarred green eye shone with something that might have been delight. "The moment you choose the Pokemon that will accompany you on your journey, your story will truly begin. During your journey, you will meet many Pokemon and people with different personalities and points of view. Most of them will be hapless morons, of course, but don't let it get you down.

"I really hope you find what is important to you in all of these travels. Befriend new people and Pokemon and grow as a person! Things will be tough - really tough. If you think you can't handle that, don't even bother trying to get to the first Gym. Only Trainers who can handle the tough stuff should bother to try. But you're tough... aren't you? A teenage kid ready to fight a rabid Liepard with a stick. You can handle it. Come on."

Juniper got to her feet and hauled Ivory to her feet. "I don't think you've got a concussion, but I'll walk you home anyway. C'mon, Serperior. Let's find some obnoxious Watchogs to fight on the way."

.

.

.

.

.

.

_**Author's Note:**_ _so... I don't really know what to say in this author's note other than I like reviews and they're awesome. Yeah. Laters!_


	3. Loyalties Engaged

_**At the bottom of this chapter:**_

_Concerning the Details of Snivies_

_About Tepigs_

_Where is the Tuatha Region?_

.

**Author's Note:** so just so we're clear on something, I'm not trying to do a dark/angsty/drama-filled retelling of the anime or the game. When I play the Pokemon games, I like to pretend I'm actually in the world. I've done that for over a decade. When I first started playing Pokemon, I even did things like play pretend IRL that my Pokemon and I were hurt and whatnot when we got burned or poisoned and stuff. I don't do that now, but it was fun back then. And I decided after playing _White_ and reading _Emphasis on Monster_ that I wanted to write about the experiences I imagined for myself. I'm not claiming to be super original or something. I'm doing this to explore the world for myself, and hopefully you guys take the trip with me and enjoy it. So... yeah. Love you guys. Thanks for all the support you've given me thus far. I'm trying to be better about updating, I swear! =)

- LA

_**NEWS!:**_ everyone, my 2 books are out! Yes, my original fiction works (one young adult urban fantasy and one inspirational romance) are available on Amazon for the Kindle for $4.99 (who remembers when books were that cheap on paper? I do! I remember when a standard RL Stine's _Fear Street_ paperback book was four bucks. Ahhh, inflation. Anyways...). And just so you know how much bang for your buck we're talking here, my YA novel is 92k words (about as long as _Twilight_). My romance is a typical category romance, around 70k words. And for those of you who don't have that sort of electronic bookie thing, both books are available in paperback on Amazon! The YA novel is $10.50 and the romance is $8.99.

My books are called _Glass_ and _Their Forever Family_, and both will be under my penname, LA Knight. =) I've got a few other books coming out some time next year, as well. So keep an eye out, yeah? Yay!

.

**Chapter Two**

**Loyalties Engaged**

.

.

Not only did Professor Juniper walk Ivory home, but she helped Ivory's mother clean the deep scratches and other injuries to the sixteen-year-old. Apparently, Nora Nox and Sakura Juniper had long been loosely acquainted. Once Ivory was disinfected, patched up, and bandaged, Nora ordered the teenager to go lay down before she fell down.

"It's not even dusk," Ivory complained. "The sun's still up!" But her voice was strained with weariness, so her mother ignored her and motioned for her to go upstairs. With heavy legs the teenager climbed the ladder to her attic room. Only after the trapdoor fell shut did Nora turn to the Pokémon Professor.

"What happened? She didn't look like she wanted to talk, but if something happened, I need to know." Nora dumped the bloody paper towels in the trash can and wrung out the wet, blood-stained wash rags before dumping them in the hamper. Finally, she put the first-aid kit back in the cabinet and sat down on the sofa. "Spill it, Sakura. What happened to my girl?"

"Rabid Liepard," the scarred woman replied. "You got any soda around here?"

"Bottom drawer in the fridge," Nora said. "Help yourself. So, what happened? Your Serperior kill it?"

"Yeah. Didn't even have to give her an order, she just jumped right in between Ivory and the Liepard. But your girl was ready to take on that Liepard with a stick. She's brave. Brave and stupid. But I was impressed, I'll give you that. She impressed my Serperior, too."

Nora arched one delicate eyebrow. She knew that Professor Juniper hadn't planned on even considering Ivory for the position of Pokédex Researcher, due to the identity of her mother. Sakura Juniper didn't consider Nora to be a real Pokémon Trainer because Nora, at nineteen, had made her way to Victory Road, failed to defeat the Elite Four, and gone home. And furthermore (and this was the thing that really rankled the battle-scarred Pokémon Professor), Nora Nox had managed to get through her time as a Trainer without losing any limbs, or even any fingers. She'd come home to Nuvema without more than a few superficial scars. Unlike Professor Juniper, who had returned with her right pinkie and ring fingers permanently crippled, a piece of her ear missing, and barely-healed acid burns on seventy percent of her left leg.

Yet somehow, Ivory had managed to acquire Juniper's admiration. "Does that mean," Nora asked, careful to keep her tone politely interested, "that you're considering her for the Research positon?"

"She's got fire. Out of the three kids I've considered, she's the best. The other two don't have drive. Cheren Gozen is too intent on the rules and regulations of the game for him to care about the experience. And Bianca Noire..."

"Her father's an idiot," Nora said shortly, scowling. "If he'd raised her differently, she'd be just like Ivory."

Juniper shrugged. "Be that as it may... how long has your girl wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer?"

"Seems like since she was born."

"Good," the half-blind woman replied. There was a smug smile stretching across that scarred face. "If she's going to do what my Serperior thinks she's going to do, then that's good."

Nora raised a laconic brow. "And what exactly does your inestimable Serperior think my girl's going to do?"

"_Your_ girl is going to take one of _my_ boys all the way to Victory Road. You mark my words. And it all starts tomorrow morning, because I'm bringing the Pokémon. I'll make sure Cheren and Bianca know to be here."

Upstairs, in the twilight-cooled attic room, Ivory stretched out on her futon, a smile on her face. Her mother didn't realize she could hear every word of the very interesting conversation downstairs through the vents. So, through the age-old technique of ventilation-eavesdropping, Ivory Nox learned that Professor Sakura Juniper, one of the most famous Pokémon Professors in the world, was going to offer her a job filling the Pokédex. And not only that, but tomorrow, the Pokémon Professor would bring a Starter Pokémon for not just her, but her two best friends.

_I wonder, _the sixteen-year-old thought as exhausting pulled at her, _if I'll get a Snivy. I'd like to have a beautiful and deadly Serperior as my partner one day, just... like... Professor..._

And Ivory slipped easily into dreams of battle and adrenaline, of razor-edged leafy whirlwinds and Victory Road... and eyes like the blood of ancient redwood trees, framed by ferny lashes. The most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen in her life.

**.**

_Don't wake up, _Ivory ordered herself the next morning, rolling to face the shadowy wall so the blinding sun lancing through her bedroom window couldn't attack her eyes anymore. The early autumn heat - an unwelcome farewell gift from summer - prickled along her skin beneath her thin blanket. She ignored the discomfort and kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut._ Don't wake up. Go back to sleep_. She planned to sleep until she was positive the Pokémon Professor had deposited the gift-wrapped box on her nightstand. If she had to be conscious while waiting for it, Ivory was fairly certain she'd go crazy.

She began to drift off again.

Something rattled. Her eyes flew open, then scrunched shut against the sickly yellow glare of the autumnal morning sun. Had Professor Juniper been here already? And why was her bed positioned right next to the window?

The trapdoor that led to the rest of the house flew open and Cheren climbed up. "Ivory! Get up! Jeez, what is _wrong _with you? Professor Juniper left the Pokémon on your nightstand!"

Groaning, Ivory rolled out of bed and scrubbed a hand over her face. Sleep crud crusted her eyes. Drool whitened the corners of her mouth. Spitting into her hand, she wiped it over her mouth to clean her skin and then scraped the grit from her eyes with half-numb fingers. Then, finally semi-conscious, she peered blearily up at Cheren, who looked down his long, tapered nose at her with friendly disdain. If she knocked his glasses off, she wondered, would he go away?

"Dude, first day after near-death experience," she informed him in a mumble, shoving hanks of brown hair out of her face. "Morning off. Go far, far away."

"Pokémon, Ivory!" Cheren grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet.

She tripped over the super-long legs of her black, yellow, and pink plaid pajama pants and grumbled, "I hate you, Cheren. A lot." But since the box was there, she let the faux-hate fade away under the sparkles of red, white, and black wrapping paper. Now they just had to wait for Bianca, and they could choose their Pokémon.

"Am I a little late?" A soft, cooing voice snagged Ivory's attention. She and Cheren turned to see blond, frothy Bianca pushing through the trapdoor. Seeing them looking at her, the sixteen-year-old twisted her green beret in her hands. "Oooh. Sorry about that!"

"Jeez, Bianca! We've known you for more than ten years and you've never managed to be on time!" Cheren growled. One jabby finger shoved his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. Ivory ignored him; she only had eyes for the prettily wrapped box on her bedside table.

"Sorry," the blonde said again. She wiped her hands on her silky, pumpkin orange top. "I had to sneak past my Dad. Are they here yet?"

The three of them gathered around the shiny, wrapped box. Stillness gripped them tightly. Anticipation hummed under Ivory's skin, sizzled through her veins. Without a second thought, she pulled the loose end of the bow, untying the ribbon. Her hands shook as she lifted the lid.

And there they were: three gleaming, full-sized poké balls. One half gleamed like the red of candied apples, the other like white ribbon candy. The center buttons glowed a soft rosy color, indicating the poké balls were occupied. Each ball hummed with the power of its captured creature. There were no labels, markers, or anything else to indicate what kind of pokémon were inside the poké balls.

"Maybe we're supposed to let our hearts guide us," Bianca mumbled. When Cheren gave her an exasperated look, Bianca merely shrugged. "Just a thought."

"This one," Ivory blurted. She reached for the one on the left. The poké ball sent tingles through her fingertips when they brushed the smooth titanium sphere. Tiny sparks sizzled up her arm. Whatever was inside called to her on a level she couldn't even describe. A sweet ache filled her chest as she laid her palm against the cool metal. Holding her breath, she scooped up the pokéball with a trembling hand. Warmth seeped into her palm. She suddenly smelled the sharp spice of pine sap and the sweet green of grass after heavy rain. "This one," she repeated, her voice soft as wind blowing gently through trees.

The other two picked their pokéballs, but Ivory didn't pay much attention. Instead, she cradled her poké ball to her chest. Her heart beat hard against the metal through her skin. She almost didn't want to press the button and open it. What if the pokémon didn't listen to her? What if it didn't like her?

But she had to do it. She _had_ to.

Candy red and ivory gleamed. The rosy glow called to her. With bated breath, she pressed the button. The lid of the poké ball flipped up, the sphere cracking open, and there was a flash of silvery light. And there, right _there_ in front of her, was a small, sleepy-looking Snivy, huge liquid brown eyes framed by incredibly long, fern-like green lashes. It blinked, amber eyelids sliding slowly over its eyes.

"It's a Snivy," Cheren said softly, as if afraid of startling it. "Male, by the plumage." He gestured to the long ferny lashes, the elegant cresting collar of golden scales around its neck, and its tail shaped like a palmate leaf. The little Snivy glanced at the boy, turned up his snout. Then he studied Bianca with a cocked head for a long moment before turning up his snout again. Finally, he waddled over to Ivory, who knelt down in front of him.

"Hello," she whispered. Those fathomless eyes of russet and gold studied her face, roving over her every feature. Ivory swallowed hard. Her heart thudded against her ribs like a hammer. The whole world seemed to fall silent, listening to this one moment. She just didn't know what to say. So she simply held out her hand and murmured, "I'm Ivory."

Very thin, sharp teeth closed over her fingertips, but didn't pierce the skin. She didn't tense up or cry out. Only met the Snivy's challenging eyes. Her heart thumped once, twice. Three times. Each possible choice reflected in her heartbeat. His teeth pricked the pads of her fingers. She felt blood well up.

Then the Snivy blinked slowly, the light shining off his golden eyelids, and released her from its tiny jaws. Crimson lightly smeared her fingertips. Calm acceptance filled those golden brown eyes. He chirped softly, as if to say, "You'll do, human." And then the Snivy tentatively brushed its smooth, scaly nose against her palm. Slender vines, covered in soft green fuzz, reached out from beneath his arms and caressed her wrist with tiny leaves as soft as velvet.

"Hello, dearest heart," Ivory said. She breathed in the scent of aloe gel, pine needles, and forest green. Fern-lashes tickled her palm. The tip of the pale green nose nuzzled the inside of her wrist. She had never, she realized, loved anything on sight as much as she loved this little Pokémon. "Hello, my brave warrior. What should I call you?"

There was wary acceptance in those russet eyes. He would answer to whatever she decided to call him – as long as it wasn't something absolutely ridiculous, like Fluffy. Which meant she'd have to choose carefully. Ivory knew the Snivy would eventually evolve into a Serperior, a regal and aristocratic emerald snake monster. What name she chose would have to reflect his final form – noble, strong, elegantly lethal, a creature of the forests.

"Galen?" She asked. One of the young, handsome forest gods in the mythology of the Tuatha region, a brave warrior and one of the six consorts of the Tuathan dark fertility goddess. When she explained that, the Snivy blinked again. Chirped. Tightened his grip on her wrist with his fuzzy vines and nodded slowly, regally, as if to say, "It will do."

"Galen," Ivory murmured softly. Caressed one his eyebrow ridges. He gave an encouraging little hum. "Hello, Galen."

"A Tepig!" Cheren yelled. "Mine's a Tepig!"

Bianca didn't say anything. She watched Cheren lightly rubbing the top of his little fire pig's head as the Tepig oinked and grunted in pleasure. Watched Ivory melding her mind, her heart – her soul – with the small, slender, incredibly arrogant grass serpent. Then she depressed the button on the poké ball she held. Silver light flashed. And before she could even blink the spots from her eyes, something soft, furry, and warm shimmied up her leg and rubbed against her shoulder, purring like a cat.

"It's an Oshawott. The Sea Otter Pokémon," Bianca murmured, stunned by the vigor of its affection. Cheren's Tepig was enjoying being loved on, but wasn't really doing much loving in return. And Ivory's Snivy... the thing had barely spared his trainer more than a second glance, though it was wrapping vines around her arm now and demanding the human girl pet his scaled eyebrow ridges. As for her Oshawott... it purred, rumbling with pleasure, and butted its head against her chin.

"What do we call them?" Cheren asked, scratching under the Tepig's chin. "We can't just be like, 'Tepig, I choose you! Fire Brand Attack!' Some other pokémon might get confused and could totally throw off a match."

"I doubt it," Bianca replied.

"This is Galen," Ivory murmured. "My Galen." The Snivy deigned to spare the other two humans a glance before returning to his task of utmost importance: forcing Ivory's hand to continue petting him while he hummed in pleasure.

"Mulan," Cheren said after a moment. "Mine's a girl."

"Starter pokémon are never girls, though," Bianca objected, momentarily distracted from Oshawott's head caressing her cheek. "Are you sure?"

Cheren traced the heart-shaped tawny splash on the little fire piglet's snout, the little heart-shaped bit at the end of the curly tail. Male Tepigs had oval-shaped facial markings and spherical tail-ends. "See?" No doubt about it, the little pig was female. "What about you, Bianca?"

"Um..." She looked into the sloe-dark eyes. Her fingers combed through the sleek, white head fur. Tiny, pearl-white paws patted her cheeks. Then the Oshawott patted the razor-edged tawny clam-shaped scalchop shell on his pale, blue-furred belly. She knew that the Oshawott would eventually evolve into Samurott, the Forbidible Samurai Pokémon, and would become a great sword master. His name should reflect that.

"I know!" Bianca cried suddenly. "Yoichi."

"As in Nasa no Yoichi?" Cheren asked. "The samurai from the famous hanging scroll in the Watanabe Museum?"

"Yeah. It's perfect. He'll be a fantastic samurai pokémon," Bianca said. "Won't you, Yoichi?"

Ivory wasn't listening. Galen had wrapped his tiny, leaf-like arms as well as his slender vines around her wrist, chirruping happily as he forced her hand to move back and forth over his head. She was surprised his arms could reach that far. Now she was busy combing through the leafy tufts of "fur" on Galen's head with gentle fingers. Her heart had melted into syrup at the first sight of those crimson-gold eyes, and the Snivy was lapping it up, though he still eyed her warily. She knew it would take him a while to trust her. That was all right; she could wait her entire life if she needed to.

"So," Cheren said after long moments of silence punctuated by happy pokémon sounds. "How about a Pokémon battle?"

_TBC_

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

**Author's Note:** so here's chapter 3 of Pokemon Ivory. I'm trying to get better about updating this fic regularly. One way to help with that is me getting great Pokemon art from the internet and looking at it for inspiration. Right now some of my favorite peeps on DeviantArt are: all0412; rannylk; aya-mei (I think that's her name); Hapuriainen; yuzahunter; and kiwchu. They rock my socks super hard. =) So check them out on DA, yeah? And of course, reviews are loves. Huggles! And Merry Christmas and happy... I can't spell Haunahahdka. *fails* But happy that, too.

- LA Knight

.

.

**Concerning the Details of Snivies:** I don't really know if Snivies have fern-lashes or "fur" that's really bits of plant matter, but I want a lot of details and there really aren't any. My non-cannon changes in this matter are mostly because I don't know if Snivy is a reptile (it says he's a grass snake, but his tail is literally a leaf and can do photosynthesis, so I tried to combine traits from living plants and reptiles, hence the "fur" and "eyelashes"). I really want to show what it's like to bond with a Pokémon the way it happens in the games. I mean, obviously the Pokémon doesn't automatically think you're the best thing since sliced bread, but you've basically been given a baby Pokémon (they're only level five) so they're going to either love or hate you. I want to really show the bonding process. For that, among other things, I need physical details.

**About Tepigs:** As for Tepig, the gender-markings are inspired by the difference in Pokémon Pearl between male and female Pikachu – a male's tail is shaped like a lightning bolt, but the end of a female's tail looks like... well, a valentine-style lightning bolt, I guess. The end is heart-shaped. And the reason I made the Tepig female was because Tepig is supposed to be of Chinese design, so I wanted a Chinese name, and the first one I thought of was Mulan. So I made her a girl. If Ash Ketchum can have a female Snivy (which he caught in the episode _Snivy Plays Hard to Catch_), then Cheren can have a female Tepig.

**Where is the Tuatha Region?:** The Tuatha region doesn't exist. Galen is (I think) an Irish vegetation god. Since they don't have continents and countries in Pokémon, I came up with the name "Tuatha Region." The Tuatha de Danaan were, in Irish mythology, the first inhabitants of Ireland. Most English-speaking countries know the Tuatha de as fairies.


	4. Some Say Fire, Some Say Ice

_**About the Chapter Title:**__I got the idea for the chapter title because, since Ivory picked Snivy, that means Cheren and Bianca picked Tepig and Oshawott, so I paraphrased a line from a Robert Frost poem for the title. I_ know _that Oshawott is a water-type pokémon, but it can learn ice-type moves (for example, Ice Beam is a very effective move for a water-type pokémon, I've always found, esp. against the Elite Four). So the actually line of the poem goes something like "Some say the world will end in fire, and some say in ice." I just paraphrased it._

_**Author's Note:**_ _and__somehow, miraculously, I've managed to do_ another _chapter in less than a month. This_ never _happens, so yay! Consider it a Christmas gift. And if things seem to be moving a little slow to some of you, I promise things pick up once Ivory gets on the road (which should happen next chapter or the chapter after that). So...yeah. Hope everything's good with you guys. Of course reviews are love. Hugs!_

_- LA_

.

**Chapter****Three  
>Some Say Fire, Some Say Ice<strong>

.

.

"So," Cheren said after long moments of silence punctuated by happy pokémon sounds. "How about a Pokémon battle?"

Galen's eyes, russet with glints of sunfire and ruby, slanted to the human boy. Narrowed in consideration. Ivory felt the sudden tension rolling off of her new pokémon and flicked a warning glance at Cheren, who seemed oblivious. The sixteen-year-old girl wasn't sure challenging her right now was a good idea. She didn't have Galen's trust; what guarantee did she have that her little Snivy would actually fight Mulan, Cheren's Tepig, instead of attacking Cheren?

And if he _did_ attack Cheren, what would happen to him? The laws about how to handle pokémon who attacked humans were brutal. A brief image of Galen being put down like a rabid animal flashed through her mind and she bit her lip to hold back a cry of denial.

When Cheren made a subtle move toward Ivory, Galen released his trainer's wrists and brought his vines up, almost like fists. The soft fuzz covering the green whip-like vines stood at attention, seeming to transform into thousands of tiny white thorns in a split second. The long, verdant ropes writhed on the air like snakes. The burgundy eyes like redwood sap began to burn, those ruby flecks in his gaze almost glowing. A strange, chittering sound rumbled in the thin, amber-scaled chest.

Mulan, Cheren's Tepig, suddenly narrowed her eyes and pawed at the wooden floorboards of Ivory's bedroom. The little fire-sow hunched down, almost squatting, watching the Snivy intently. Bianca's Oshawott just watched the other two pokémon from the safety of his Trainer's shoulder.

"Cheren, wait," Ivory said sharply. "No. Look at Galen."

The Trainer boy finally did take his eyes of Ivory to glance at the grass pokémon. His eyes widened. "Whoa." Cheren took a step back. "He looks...mad."

"I think he thinks you're threatening me," the girl replied, her voice soft. "Or him. Or both of us. Galen," gently to the little grass serpent. "Galen, it's okay. Cheren won't hurt us. It's okay."

Galen gave Ivory a wary look before glaring at Cheren. Two jade buds on his vines burst open, spilling out razor-edged leaves of vibrant emerald green. Galen made that chittering warning sound again. Cheren tensed, unsure if he was supposed to run or do some kind of submissive gesture or what to keep the Snivy from attacking. Ivory's entire body tensed, ready to lunge between her friend and her pokémon.

Just then a dash of pale blue and white zipped in between Galen and the human boy. Yoichi, Bianca's Oshawott, held up both paws toward the snake pokémon and the boy and chirped, "Osha, osha! Wott-wott osha!" Galen cocked his head. The vines lowered a little. Yoichi plucked the golden shell from his belly and held it up for Galen to see. "Osha," Yoichi chirruped. He wiggled the shell. Sunlight spread across the pearlescently aurulent surface before glinting on the sharpened edge like light on a freshly-honed sword blade. "Osha-osha-oshawott!"

"Snivy," Galen muttered, and lowered his vines. With a shrug of his tiny shoulders, the snake added, "Snivy, snivy."

Sensing disaster had been avoided—for the moment—Ivory let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and flopped down across her bedroom floor. Bianca sank down onto her best friend's bed. Cheren's back thumped against the wall and he slid to the floor when his legs buckled.

"Jeez," he mumbled. "He was going to attack me. What just happened?"

"I think..." Bianca trailed off as her Oshawott scampered over and began butting his head against her fingers, which lay limply on her knee. "I think Yoichi was explaining what a pokémon battle is to Galen. I don't think he's been trained to fight like that."

"Is he wild?" Cheren asked. "Feral, I mean?"

"Osha," Yoichi cried, tugging on Bianca's fingers with his tiny white paws. Ivory saw that he'd sheathed his shell in the furry half-pouch on his pale blue belly. "Osh," he added, wiggling. His flat beaver-like tail drummed on the floor. He gestured to Galen. "Oshawott, oshawott!"

Cheren shoved his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Bianca...is he saying what I think he's saying?"

Shoving her hands through her golden hair and knocking her beret to the floor, Bianca said, "I...don't...know. Um...Yoichi? You want to battle Galen?" The blond girl's mouth fell open when the water pokémon did an abrupt backward somersault and made a vibrating cooing sound like a happy Pidove. "I guess he does."

"Okay, seriously, Bianca," Cheren replied sharply. "Even though they're still weak pokémon, you shouldn't have pokémon battles inside a house, for pity's sake!"

"You challenged Ivory first!"

"I was going to suggest we take it outside before her Snivy went nuts on me. And that's another thing! Her Snivy isn't ready to do battle with another Trainer. He's just as likely to attack you as your Oshawott!"

Bianca stood up and popped her hands on her hips. "Don't be a worrywart, jeez! These little ones are weak, like you said. We have to let them battle so they'll get stronger. And Yoichi explained everything to Galen, so he won't freak out and try to hurt me. Right, Ivory?" When the other girl didn't respond, Bianca glanced at her friend. "Ivory?"

Ivory didn't answer. She simply stared hard into her pokémon's eyes. Galen gazed calmly back at her. Gentle warmth seeped into her chest as she maintained eye contact with her new partner. Finally, Galen inclined his head just a little, as if to say, _I'll go along with this...for now._ He turned to Bianca and her Oshawott.

"All right!" Bianca bounced up and down, pumping her fists in the air. "My first battle and it's with my best friend! Yes! All right, it's settled, Ivory. Get ready for your first pokémon battle! Yoichi, attack!"

All playfulness slipped away from the fuzzy little water creature at the word _attack_. His ultramarine eyes narrowed, pupils dilating with a rush of adrenaline, and he squared his shoulders. Galen straightened up, lifting his chin in challenge. The sunlight filtering through clouds, trees, and bedroom curtains danced across the golden scales, giving them a sheen like green moonstone, and spilled like water across Yoichi's pearl-white fur, bringing out pale blue highlights.

Getting to her feet, Ivory said, "Okay, then. Let's do this. Our first battle, Galen, attack _now!"_

The Snivy and the Oshawott charged across the room and slammed into each other with enough force that Cheren winced and Mulan, the little Tepig, squealed and raced behind Cheren's updrawn legs. Before any of the teens could say a word, Yoichi and Galen separated. Yoichi slid across the floor with a scrabbling of moon-white claws. Galen lashed out with his short vines, snagging a post of Ivory's bed to keep from colliding with the wall. With an excited chitter, Galen launched himself across the floor. Yoichi gave a little yelping bark and raced toward his opponent.

At the last second, Galen lowered his head and rammed the scale-covered crest of bone on his skull into Yoichi's face. The Oshawott yelped. Scrambled backwards, a paw clapped to its dun-colored nose. Bright red blood trickled from one nostril.

"Yoichi!" Bianca cried. "Oh, no! I won't let your Snivy get away with that, Ivory! We're gonna win this match!"

_Save your breath,_ Ivory thought, but said nothing. She didn't want to talk about winning. She wanted to watch Galen attack with a liquid grace that should've been impossible in a pokémon so young. He was only, what? A level five? Yet he'd twined and twisted through the air with all the grace and fluidity of water. She didn't even bother shouting out orders. She could feel her pokémon, feel what he was going to do before he did it. Watching him left her breathless; mentally moving with him through the battle left her heart pounding with a constant surge of adrenaline.

"Galen, keep it up!" Ivory called. "You're doing great!"

The Snivy flicked his palmate leaf at her, but it wasn't a dismissive gesture. More like a child taking a moment out of its busy life to wave at its parents. Inexplicably, Ivory felt the urge to laugh.

But then, with a little growl, the blue otter pokémon drew his edged clam from its place on his belly and leapt toward Galen. The Snivy braced for the tackle, dodging at the last second in a flash of sunlight on green and gold scales. Yoichi barked and kicked out with his long leg. The blow caught Galen in the belly. With a hissing yelp, the grass snake went down on hands and knees. The Oshawott moved in for another attack.

Galen chattered angrily as the water monster's golden clam smacked him in the shoulder, the back, the eye. Yoichi was young enough, Ivory realized, that he didn't actually know how to use the weapon he'd been born with. He could only bash away with it.

That didn't stop him from accidentally slicing through a few layers of scales with the clam and drawing glistening, golden blood from Galen's shoulder. Ivory cried out her pokémon's name. The Snivy screeched in surprise and pain before scuttling back in order to get a breather. One of his vines hastily wrapped the wounded limb.

"Galen," Ivory cried. "Galen, are you okay?"

He turned just enough to look at her over his shoulder. He nodded once, sharply. A thin dribble of blood seeped from between the thin vine twined around his bleeding arm. Fluffing out his scaly golden crest, he turned back to the Oshawott. Baring his teeth, he raced to tackle the water monster again.

Yoichi tried to dodge left. Galen feinted toward him. Yoichi scrambled to the right. The Snivy followed. Back and forth, back and forth they went, in a mad dash to be the first to land a hard tackle to the floor. The Oshawott panted with the effort of remaining just out of Galen's reach. Drying blood crusted his nose and a patch of white facial fur. Ivory noticed the wound in the young Snivy's arm began bleeding more heavily as the game of chase continued.

An opening presented itself. When her pokémon didn't move to take it, she realized Galen's eye had swollen shut from when Yoichi had hit him with the clam. He couldn't see the opportunity to end the fight once and for all. Ivory yelled, "Galen! Tackle left!"

The Oshawott tried to block the tackle with the clam—both monsters were too close to bother with dodging—but Galen hissed and slammed into the otter with as much force as he could muster, just barely avoiding the last-second defense of the sharp seashell. Yoichi yelped and went flying. He thumped hard into the floor and slid a couple feet, coming to rest at Bianca's feet.

"Yoichi!" Bianca dropped to the floor and lifted her pokémon, cradling him to her chest. "Yoichi, say something!"

Cheren hastened to his friend's side. He pulled something small and round from his pocket and put it in the Oshawott's slack mouth. With gentle fingers, he forced the pokémon's jaw to move up and down, making Yoichi chew whatever Cheren had put in his mouth.

Ivory held her breath. Had Galen seriously hurt the other little creature? What had Cheren given him?

After what felt like a small eternity, Yoichi stirred. Mumbled, "Oh...sha..."

The Trainer boy pulled another small, round thing—Ivory realized it was some sort of healing berry—from his pocket and popped it into the Oshawott's mouth. This time Yoichi chewed it himself. Bianca spat on a handkerchief and gently cleaned away the blood from the pocket-monster's nose. Cheren gave him two more berries to chew. Looking much better, the Oshawott sat up.

"Osha-osha," Yoichi chirped. He looked around, then hopped down out of his Trainer's arms. Still bruised, fur still mussed, he had enough strength to shuffle over to Galen. Placing his white paws together, he bowed in the style of _bushido_. "Oshawott," he said solemnly.

Galen blinked and made a soft chitter-chattering sound. With his uninjured arm across his belly, he bowed too. "Snivy."

With that, Yoichi limped back to Bianca and clambered into her arms.

"Ivory, catch!"

She barely managed to catch the small, white leather pouch Cheren tossed her. She saw that one side was embroidered with a pokéball and a red cross decorated the other side. When she loosened the red drawstring, she looked inside and found more of the small berries. Pulling one out, she offered it to Galen.

He turned up his nose.

"No, look," Ivory murmured. Galen eyed her warily as the human girl popped a berry into her mouth. Her teeth pierced the dark blue skin. Sweetness flooded across her tongue. Almost immediately after swallowing it, the dull ache of her wounds from the previous day faded a little. She smiled. "See, it's okay. It'll make you feel better."

This time Galen took one of the berries and nibbled on it. When nothing drastic happened, he gobbled it up and held out his claws for another one. Three berries later, the cut on his arm had almost completely healed, his bruises were half-faded, and he no longer moved as if he'd pulled a muscle in his leg from all the jumping and dodging. One of his vines brushed against Ivory's knuckles in silent thanks. She smiled wider at her Snivy and tossed the bag of berries back to Cheren.

"Your room's trashed," her friend said. He'd managed to coax his Tepig out from behind his legs. "Told you battling inside was a bad idea. And now you owe Ivory five-hundred _yen_."

Bianca couldn't suppress her wince. "I forgot about that. Um...we'll stop by my house on the way to the professor's place and I'll pay you back then, okay?"

"Sure." Ivory shrugged. "As long as the pokémon are okay, I don't care." She was only going to take Bianca's money because those were the rules of pokémon battling—getting a cash prize when victorious against a trainer was standard operating procedure. "And I don't care about my room, either. I'll clean it later. Good job, Galen," she added to the grass snake. He blinked at her as if to say, _Well, what did you expect?_ She grinned. "That was a _great_ battle."

"Hey, Cheren!" Bianca cried suddenly. She cuddled her Oshawott on Ivory's bed. "How about you battle, too? That way we each get to experience a battle before going to see Professor Juniper."

The Trainer boy glanced at his other friend and smiled, a smile that said, _It's only fair_. Ivory sighed. She didn't want to tax Galen too hard. He was still a baby, and he'd just had a really hard battle. His injuries might've healed, but that didn't mean he had his stamina back, and Mulan was fresh from the pokéball.

But when she opened her mouth to refuse, Galen gave her a look she felt down to her bones. The russet-red of his eyes, once burning with shards of ruby fire, now softened with a faint sheen of gold and umber. His palmate leaf trembled like a real leaf in a stiff breeze. That vine snaked out and caressed Ivory's knuckles again. Excitement gleamed in his gaze. Now that he'd discovered pokémon battling, he _liked_ it.

"You up for this?" His Trainer asked quietly. Galen studied her. "I won't make you fight if you don't want to."

In answer, the grass serpent turned to the fire-sow and hissed at her. Mulan snorted and pawed the floor with one tiny black hoof. When the two Trainers gave the order to attack, Galen screeched and dashed toward Cheren's Tepig. She squealed and charged.

Ivory felt that strange sense of _knowing_ she'd experienced in the first battle as Galen leapt over Mulan's back and raked her with his claws. The stubby claws barely broke the skin. Tiny beads of dark blood bubbled up along the scratches. Mulan squealed again. Rocking forward onto her front hooves, she kicked out with her hind legs and caught Galen in the belly. The Snivy wheezed and fell back.

"Galen, get up!" Ivory yelped. "You can do it, come on!" She knew grass-types were weak against fire-types, but that was _all_ she knew. Did that weakness only apply to type-specific attacks, or did that carry over into actual species types, too? Would Galen lose to Mulan because he was a grass-type and the Tepig was fire?

"Get him, Mulan!"

Mulan reared back on her hind legs and brought her hooves crashing down toward the floor. At the last second, Galen rolled out of the way. Twisting to his feet, he scrabbled on scritching claws toward Mulan. The Tepig lowered her head and charged.

This fight took much longer than the battle between Yoichi and Galen. The dodging game came back. Ivory knew as she watched her Snivy trip and stumble over his weary little feet that she'd been right to worry for his stamina. He needed rest, or a Pokémon Center, not back-to-back battles. Although she knew she'd be expected to face off against Trainers out in the world who had more than one pokémon. Galen needed to build up his endurance. But her heart wrung with pity and heartache when her Snivy tripped again and fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

Mulan shuddered, her muscles threatening to cramp from the brutal exertion. Her corkscrew tail dipped low, the unlit heart-shaped flame-bubble at the tip actually touching the wooden floorboards. She took a quivery step toward the exhausted Snivy.

"Come on, Mulan!" Cheren cried, actually pumping his fists. "Take him down! You can do it! You can totally take him!"

Instead of cheering or crying or coaxing, Ivory knelt to the floor. She didn't know as much about pokémon as Cheren did, but she knew a few things. In an isolated place like Nuvema Town, you _had_ to know the very basics in order to survive a trip to the grocery store. So she knew that snake pokémon felt vibrations through the ground, and that they communicated much the way rabbit-type pokémon did—by thumping the ground in certain rhythms.

Ivory stretched out on her floor and began thumping her fist rhythmically against the wood. Galen had already shown her that he'd ignore her sometimes when she spoke to him. He was tired, nearly spent. He'd probably ignore any kind of pep talk she tried to give him. But maybe he wouldn't ignore this. So she beat her fist in a _thud-a-thud-thudthud_ rhythm on the wooden floor.

And Galen opened his weary eyes and looked at her. She kept thumping the floor. Just like she'd felt every move he'd intended to make before he made it, she could feel his exhaustion dragging at him. Biting her lip, Ivory tried to smile encouragingly while continuing the rhythm.

"You can do it," she whispered. The wood was cool and smooth against her cheek. "You can do it, Galen. My brave warrior." _Thud-a-thud-thudthud. Thud-a-thud-thudthud._ "I know, I _know_ that you're tired, but just give it one more try and you can rest for awhile, okay?"

Mulan took another limping step toward Galen.

Galen heaved himself to his feet. The Tepig gave a little _oink!_ of surprise and backed up a step. Galen turned to look at her. Then, making that angry chitter one more time, he lunged for Mulan and slammed into her side with one muscled shoulder, driving her back against the entertainment center that housed Ivory's television and Nintendo Wii.

The Wii tilted on its shelf and toppled out of the entertainment center. It smacked into Mulan's tail, pinning it to the floor. She squealed in pain, kicking her little hooves. Galen body-slammed her one more time.

She didn't fall prostrate to the floor as Yoichi had. Instead, she merely squealed and grunted before hunching down and refusing to move.

"Mulan!" Cheren cried. He reached for the heavy machinery pinning his pokémon, but to his surprise, Galen wiggled himself beneath the white box and hoisted it off of the frightened Tepig. Then the grass snake gently butted his head against hers in encouragement. Mulan wiggled her hindquarters. Realizing she was no longer trapped, she hopped to her feet and turned in a circle, trying to see her tail.

Galen staggered back to Ivory. She crouched on the floor, wondering what would happen now. There was no Pokémon Center in Nuvema, and Galen was her only pokémon, making it dangerous to travel through Route 1 to the nearest city for medical help for him. Well, it didn't matter. If she had to put off leaving until Galen was better, all rested up and whatnot, that was fine.

The Snivy sighed heavily and started to fall to the floor. Ivory stretched out her arms, catching him before he could smack face-first into the wood. Lifting him into her arms, she cradled the exhausted grass snake to her heart.

"Good job, Galen," she whispered to him. He made a little _hmmm_ sound. Ivory rubbed his scaly head with her cheek. "Good job."

_TBC_

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_**Author's Note:**__so that's chapter 3. I hope you guys enjoyed it. First time writing a pokémon battle. Hope I did okay. Merry Christmas, everyone! Happy holidays and ho-ho-ho and stuff (to quote the Grinch). Not sure how soon I'll be able to update again. Luckily I'm on vacation right now. Sort of. So I've got a little more time than normal to write fanfiction. Yay! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter before the end of January, lol._

_Hugs!_

_LA_


End file.
